PDSU-PSU Call — Fight Against Punishment to JNU Students for Defending Democratic Rights!

April 29, 2016 1:50 am

Resist Fascist Offensive of Pseudo-National Communal RSS-BJP Govt!

The students of JNU have again been ruthlessly attacked by the JNU administration at the behest of the RSS Modi Govt. Seeing the opportunity when examinations have started and certain sections of students have even begun leaving for summer vacations, the cowardly administration has announced rustication for various periods for Umar Khalid and Muttoo, prohibited Anirban from the JNU campus for five years and imposed massive fines on other student leaders including the President of JNUSU Kanaihya Kumar. All this is supposed to be in the defence of ‘nationalism’ by the RSS backed Central Govt committed to selling India to imperialism while cruelly stamping out peoples resistance. Not only that, these Hindutva elements in power also seek to stamp out the freedom of enquiry by attacking centres of higher learning and ensuring only conformity and studies into mythology as the only knowledge allowed to Indians. They are the native Macaulays. Besides, like Dronacharya, they too hate the Dalit students who have made their way into institutions of higher learning. The proof is Rohith Vemula.

The JNU students have accepted the challenge and have launched a struggle against this drama of ‘defending’ nationalism which is all what these arbitrary punishments are about. Students have never appeared before this so called Enquiry Committee which was headed by a teacher who had led the anti reservation “Youth for Equality” unit in JNU. There was no representation of SC ST sections in this Committee. It was a committee in service of Hindutva and that is how it gave its report. The Teachers organization of JNU had also refused to accept this Enquiry Committee. But the farce has been played out.

Students of JNU have begun an in indefinite hunger strike inside JNU demanding scrapping of the punishments announced. The attack on these students is part of the attack on the right to support democratic issues especially the struggle of Kashmiri people which is anathema to the Hindutva forces and also to the ruling classes of India. Students in institutions of higher learning are fighting for democratic space for all sections, are fighting against handing over Education to corporate, are opposing saffronization and privatization of higher education, are opposing caste discrimination in the universities, are opposing the murder of dissent by those who seek to sell India.

PDSU-PSU call on the students of India, whether in Telengana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai, Odisha, UP, Bihar, West Bengal or any other part of the country-Stand in support of the JNU students. Their struggle is our struggle, as is the struggle of the students of HUC, of FTII, of IIT Chennai, of Jadavpur University, of Ferguson College and any other struggle of democratic students. We call on all students to join us to observe Solidarity Day on 30th April and Protest Day on 2nd May in solidarity with the JNU students.